“Lord Reginald, I dare not interfere in the conflict between you and Prince Zachary, but no matter the storm, it should remain a matter between men. Martha, on the other hand, is frail and utterly naive. She has nothing to do with your dispute. Please, Lord Reginald, can you spare her?"Hearing her plea for Martha, Reginald thought he should be angry, but perhaps he was in too good a mood to feel that way. He kept smiling and replied, "If you truly care about Martha, you shouldn't be pleading with me. You should be advising Brandon to find a way to distance himself from Zachary. Zachary's greed knows no bounds, and he won’t be content with just forty percent. He’ll keep pushing until Brandon can't meet his demands, and when that happens, Martha will be in danger all the same. You've seen tonight how ruthless Zachary can be.""Young Master Brandon understands that too. He said he would speak with Prince Zachary, but he hopes you can give him some time to maneuver and refrain from targe
Suddenly, Reginald's gaze sharpened as he stared into the distance, muttering, "Strange... What is she doing here in the middle of the night?""Do you know her?" Miranda cautiously stood up, following his gaze. In the faint moonlight, she could only make out a shadowy figure walking up the mountain path toward the estate. It was impossible to tell whether it was a man or a woman, yet Reginald seemed to recognize them.Reginald nodded absentmindedly, still focused on the distance. "It seems to be Lady Liudmila's personal maid."Lady Liudmila? Miranda frowned slightly. Shouldn't he be calling her 'Mother'? Her heart skipped a beat, and she vaguely guessed what was going on. However, palace intrigues were dangerous—knowing too much could put her in jeopardy. So, she pretended not to notice anything and said casually, "So, it's Lady Liudmila's maid?"Reginald, unaware of his slip of the tongue, nodded again. "Indeed."As they watched the maid enter the estate and head toward a secluded co
“Lord Reginald, are you alright?” Miranda couldn’t help but ask.Reginald shook his head, turned toward the side room, then suddenly stopped as if remembering something. He turned back to stare at Miranda, speaking gravely, “What we saw tonight, and what you overheard earlier—don’t mention it to anyone. Not a single soul, understand?”Miranda nodded. “I understand.”When she returned upstairs, Molly and the others were still waiting for her. Seeing her return safely, looking no different than before, they finally relaxed. As the night deepened, Molly fetched a cloak, draped it over Miranda’s shoulders, tied the ribbon, and said, “Miss, it’s late. You should retire and rest early.”Miranda nodded.Back in her room, Miranda lay on the bed, replaying the evening’s events in her mind, her thoughts filled with questions. If Lady Liudmila had come to pray for Reginald, his expression shouldn’t have been like that. It seemed likely that there was another person involved. When Reginald spoke
The next day, everyone had returned home. Miranda was in her father’s study, helping him organize some papers as usual. Suddenly, she seemed to remember something, turned to her father and said, “Father, I need to step out for a moment. I just remembered that Prince Zachary has a message for me to pass on to Selena. I’ll go find her.”The Earl of Croyso lifted his head from a stack of documents, looking puzzled. “Prince Zachary? What business does he have with Selena?”Miranda chuckled. “Oh, it’s nothing much. While we were at the villa, Prince Zachary asked me about a garment Selena was embroidering for him. He seemed curious about how it was coming along.”Miranda knew that, with Selena’s ambition and her obsession with power, she would likely reignite her dream of marrying Zachary and becoming future queen now that her chances of becoming the king’s mistress were lost. By bringing this up casually, Miranda hoped her father would step in and quash any illusions Selena might still be
“Foolish!” Earl Croyso erupted in anger when he confirmed that Selena had developed such thoughts. The embroidery was a trivial matter, but now that he had seen Zachary’s true nature, marrying into the royal family would undoubtedly bring unseen dangers. Moreover, the path to the throne is often fraught with uncertainty. If his daughter married Prince Zachary, the whole family would be forced to take sides. He had never wanted to get involved in the cutthroat politics of the royal heirs, preferring to remain neutral. But if Selena had truly entertained such ideas and caused any kind of scandal with Zachary, for the sake of her reputation, he would have no choice but to marry her off to him. With such an alliance, even if he stayed neutral, others would still see him as part of Zachary’s faction.Besides, even if Zachary managed to ascend to the throne, his hypocritical and arrogant nature made him wholly unfit for his daughter!How could Selena be so bewitched?“Selena, you’re still u
“I would love to, but it’s impossible to find anyone as beautiful, gentle, understanding, and tolerant as you, Mother. No one else catches my eye. So, I’ll just have to keep looking,” Reginald said, his tone playful. Yet, as soon as the thought of marriage came up, a fleeting image of Miranda’s charming and ever-changing expressions flashed through his mind.“You! All the children your age have already married. Even Zachary, who’s always been at odds with you, I hear he’s recently taken a liking to a young lady and is planning to propose to the Queen. What about you? When will you let me hold my grandchild?” Lady Liudmila cast him a reproachful glance.“Zachary is getting engaged?” Reginald was momentarily surprised, then chuckled. “That fellow fancies himself the future king, always so high and mighty. I wonder which family’s daughter he’s set his sights on?” Suddenly, a memory of that assassination attempt surfaced—Zachary badmouthing him to Miranda. Reginald’s heart tightened abrup
That day, Lady Langley come to visit Miranda at her home. Just as she arrived, she happened to run into Earl Croyso, who was returning from outside.As a matter of etiquette, Earl Croyso invited Lady Langley to join him in the drawing room. The two sat opposite each other, the room bathed in the soft light of the late afternoon. The air was heavy with unspoken words and lingering tensions from years past. Breaking the silence, Croyso glanced up from his cup, his voice calm but detached. “It seems the Fitzroy family has encountered some difficulties. You’re close with Lady Fitzroy, aren’t you? If you have time, it might be a good idea to take Miranda with you to visit them tomorrow.”Lady Langley, who had been stirring her tea absentmindedly, froze for a second before lifting her head. The news struck her sharply, concern flashing across her face. “What’s happened?” she asked, her voice edged with worry.Croyso leaned back slightly, setting his cup down on the polished mahogany table.
Old Mr. Fitzroy was a very thin and gaunt old man, around fifty years old, with graying hair and beard. He looked somewhat stern and unapproachable. However, he greatly valued Mrs. Fitzroy, his daughter-in-law, and consequently also liked his innocent and sweet granddaughter, Wensley. Hearing that her friend was present, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he suddenly asked, "Miranda? Is she the daughter of Lord Croyso?"Upon hearing her father's name, Miranda quickly stood up and said, "Yes, he is my father.""Oh my, so you're his daughter, and you got injured in my residence. This is terrible! You must speak well of me in front of your father when you return. Don’t let that overprotective man chase me around half the capital with his sword." Old Mr. Fitzroy chuckled, as if remembering something amusing. "These old bones of mine can’t withstand his fuss!" This was because Miranda had accidentally twisted her ankle on the way here."Huh?" Miranda was taken aback, not quite underst